Fourth generation (4G) wireless networks have served the public well, providing ubiquitous access to the Internet and enabling the explosion of mobile apps, smartphones and sophisticated data intensive applications like mobile video. This continues the evolution of cellular technologies, where each new generation brings substantial benefits to the public, enabling significant gains in productivity, convenience, and quality of life.
Looking ahead to the demands that the ever increasing and diverse data usage is placing on existing networks, it is becoming clear to the industry that current 4G networks will not be able to support the foreseen needs in data usage. This is in part because data traffic volume has been, and continues to, increase at an exponential rate. Moreover, new applications such as, for example, immersive reality and remote robotic operation, coupled with the ongoing expansion of mobile video, are expected to overwhelm the carrying capacity of current network systems. One of the goals of 5G system design is to be able to economically scale the capabilities of networks in dense urban settings (e.g., to 750 Gbps per sq. Km), which is not possible using technology which has been commercially deployed.
In addition to being able to handle larger volumes of data, next generation systems will need to improve the quality of data delivery in order to support desired future applications. The public is increasingly coming to expect that wireless networks provide a near “wireline” experience to the untethered user. This may translate to, for example, a requirement of 50+ Mbps throughout coverage areas (i.e., even at cell edges), which will require advanced interference mitigation technologies to be realized.
Another aspect of the quality of user experience is mobility. The throughput of current wireless networks tends to be dramatically reduced in tandem with increased mobile speeds due to Doppler effects. Future 5G systems aim to not only increase supported speeds up to 500 Km/h for high speed trains and aviation, but to also support a host of new automotive applications for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications.
While the support of increased and higher quality data traffic is necessary for wireless networks to continue supporting user needs, carriers are also exploring new applications that will enable new revenues and innovative use cases. These include the automotive and smart infrastructure applications discussed above. Other desired applications include the deployment of public safety ultra-reliable networks, the use of cellular networks to support the sunset of the PSTN, and the like. Moreover, it is anticipated the 5G networks will usher in the deployment of large numbers of Internet connected devices, also known as the Internet of Things (IoT). However, existing networks are not designed to support a very large number of connected devices with very low traffic per device.